Margy Harris on Cross Point Road had an energetic afternoon recently. Three goats had got loose and were giving her a hard time getting to her front door. Soon, June Finnegan (who says she'd been dreaming about goats!), Barry Johnston, and other neighbors came to her rescue, and managed to corral them. Margy suggests making it an annual event, the Cross Point Running of the Goats.

Sunday, October 6, at 3 pm, the public is invited to the Installation Service for the Reverend Iris K. Burnell, new pastor at the Edgecomb Congregational Church.

Another Fair, another winner! Cathy Williams on the Old Fort Road hauled in three First Prize ribbons for the three hooked rugs she entered at the Cumberland Fair! The rug she is most proud of features Fort Edgecomb itself. The others are a "honeymoon cottage" in primitive manner, and a lobster adapted from a stained glass window version.

I mentioned last week the Lincoln County Recycling and Waste Disposal Department's (LCR) "Mercury and More" Collection Event, on-going this month at every local waste disposal transfer station, leading up to October 26 at the Huntoon Hill facility itself. Please, everyone, take this seriously. If you have an out-dated computer kicking around, get rid of it in this responsible way! Its board wiring is coated with mercury, for greater conductivity. Fluorescent light bulbs and television tubes light up by means of a mercury vapor arc. Fever thermometers and barometers use mercury because of its sensitivity to changes in temperature and air pressure. Mercury as an element and in all its chemical compounds is very dangerous to the health, including possible nerve and brain damage. For more information and advice, call LCR at 882-5276.

Wedding bells have rung for John Callahan, Jr., son of John and Margaret Callahan on the River Road. His bride is Diane Huberty of St. Paul, Minnesota. They were wed September 28 at St. Patrick's Church in Newcastle. The bride's sister, Clairanne Wigand, was matron of honor, while John's brother Thomas was best man. The senior Callahans report that numerous guests from Minnesota and Texas attended the ceremony and festivities after. The couple will live in St. Paul. Congratulations, John and Diane!

Herb Reed left last Monday for St. Louis to visit his daughters before going to his home in Florida. He had spent the summer with his mother, Veula Reed, on the River Road, and his brother Bob on the Merry Island Road. Lately, Bob Reed has had a visit from an old friend he worked with in the days he was living in Louisiana.

More River Road activity: Barbara Koch and some friends have been at her summer place for a brief visit from Kettering, Ohio.

We Camerons have had a merry weekend, first at the Edgecomb Historical Society's annual meeting, followed by a splendid tour of the Schmid Preserve, led by Bob Brown who explained and corrected, among other things, details of the devastating 1928 fire which destroyed a thriving sub-community, and earned the area the name Mt. Hunger.

Next morning we sallied forth to a Mushroom Foray held by the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, with mycologist Hall Bonner on hand to identify the many, many species we all were able to collect. These Gardens are a valuable asset to our region. Still under development, they are being laid out to represent the several habitats present in our peninsular environment. Recommended for Sunday strolls, and a place to take out-of-town guests!

And then away to the Pemaquid Oyster Festival in Newcastle, to help support our area's burgeoning aquaculture. I must say, the Damariscotta River encourages a very fine oyster. Whether raw or grilled, with plenty of lemon, they went down fine!

Contentedly developing pearls at 234 River Road, 633-2978, bonesukl@midcoast.com. This column appears in The Boothbay Register, The Lincoln County News, The Wiscasset Newspaper, and at www.Edgecomb.org.